desk-table, Left._

_The_ CHIEF OF STAFF, _silent, motionless and watchful, stands
beside him with his hands resting on the table-top. He is thin, old and
emaciated, clean-shaven, firm-lipped, and looks startlingly like a bird
of prey. Right, stands a group of generals and other officers._


MINISTER OF WAR

[_Rising and speaking in a sharp, crisp bass voice._

I can only repeat, gentlemen, what his Excellency, the Chief of Staff,
has already made clear to you. Nothing has been decided. You have your
orders in your pockets. There may be war and there may not be war. I
understand, gentlemen, your natural impatience once more to draw the
naked steel for the glory of our country, and you may rest assured that
his gracious majesty, the King, will not forget that his fame and the
happiness of his people rests ultimately in your hands. Personally, as a
man of family and as a Christian, I hope to God that peace may be
preserved. But if God wills that our enemy, by his insolence, forces us
to draw the sword, I know that you will wield it with honor and will not
sheathe it until our enemy is crushed, root and branch, stock and
barrel, and brought so low that he will never raise his head again in
dishonorable defiance of our holy rights.

[_The_ OFFICERS _shout with enthusiasm, lifting their helmets
in air. The_ MINISTER OF WAR _sits down again._

That is all, gentlemen.